Methods for conducting analysis, planning, and preservation of the historical and cultural potential of urban riverside areas

Abstract

The article examines the decisive role of rivers in the historical, cultural, and civilizational development of the territories and peoples that inhabit them and explores possible ways of evaluating the historical and cultural potential of riverbanks for their integration into active urban planning. For this purpose, the principles and methodology of the architectural and landscape organisation of urban riverside areas have been outlined. One aspect of this methodology involves revealing the historical and cultural potential of riverside territories. Based on an analysis of UNESCO Heritage Sites regarding the connection of heritage objects with natural bodies of water, such as rivers, a specialised method has been proposed – for addressing these challenges – a method for identifying water bodies of historical and cultural heritage (using the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Ukraine, as a case study). It is noted that, for active urban planning and adaptation to climate change, riverside areas should be considered both as a unified territorial entity and as an independent object of urban planning design. This includes leveraging the unique historical and cultural potential of each city’s riverside territories and implementing planning solutions to sustain the natural and ecological state of river valleys, such as through the organisation of "blue-green" urban infrastructure.

Keywords

• rivers and riverside areas
• architectural and landscape organisation
• historical and cultural potential
• UNESCO heritage
• “blue-green” urban infrastructure
• Dnipro River